Back to school for Nobel Fire Systems

When Steyning Grammar School completed the expansion of its boarding facilities earlier this year, the number of student places rose from 70 to 124. As well as the usual study rooms, common room, and living accommodation, the new build also provides kitchen and dining facilities for the Sixth Form students.
Pupil and staff safety has been an influencing factor in all decisions taken regarding the expansion programme, none more so than how best to ensure protection against possible fire risk in the new kitchen.
With a commercial kitchen it’s not just the hot oils and naked flames that cause the high fire risk. Research has shown that in many cases problems can exist in the kitchen extract systems and ventilation ductwork. It’s often the situation that grease and other residue will build up within the system and this will lead to the coating igniting with the consequence of a much larger fire breaking out. The result can lead to the endangering of lives and substantial damage to property.
According to the insurance industry, insurance companies are increasingly rejecting fire damage claims because protection of the extraction system is often a condition of their policies.
The answer to this potential problem for Steyning Grammar School was to fit a fire suppression system specifically designed for commercial kitchens that protects both the cooking area and the ductwork on a permanent basis. Designed by Nobel Fire Systems, the K-Series is the only system on the market that takes into consideration the risk beyond the entrance to the duct. Only the K-Series provides fire risk cover from the last nozzle at the extract plenum downstream along the entire length of the ductwork to the extract fan and/or point of extract to the external environment.
And let’s not also forget that in the past there have been issues with extract systems catching fire and going back upstream into the site itself. This has the potential to cause major risk of harm to personnel and substantial damage to the kitchen area.
Nobel’s K-Series fire protection systems are engineered to meet the specific individual requirements of the kitchen being protected. The systems are electronically controlled with no mechanical moving parts. Installations comprise of one or a number of stainless steel cylinders, each containing a highly effective F class wet chemical liquid designed specifically for fast flame knock down and fire suppression. The low, near neutral pH value of the liquids ensures that there is no damage to the commercial kitchen appliances, and as a direct consequence of the efficiency of K-Series in limiting the volume of liquid required to control the situation, there is minimal clean-up requirements following discharge.
Like all Nobel systems, the installation at Steyning Grammar School was designed following a comprehensive risk assessment taking into account the requirement of successful fire suppression and the school’s interruption potential.
The Nobel K-Series has also been installed in many of the leading catering establishments including Jamie Oliver, Nando’s, Punch Pub Company, The Trafford Centre, Rick Stein, Cadbury Cocoa House, Boodle’s and many other premier brands.